The Moscow Patriarchate in Ukraine is supported by no more than 4% of the population, according to the Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, Metropolitan Epifaniy.
Metropolitan Epifaniy stated this in an interview with NV.
"The OCU is supported by 55% of our fellow citizens, while the MP has no more than 4%," said the Metropolitan commenting on the mass transition of UOC-MP communities to the OCU.
The Primate of the OCU noted that since the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine, the Moscow Patriarchate has lost three-quarters of its support in Ukraine and continues to lose it, as indicated by social survey data
"For ordinary parishioners, it is much easier to realize their desire - they simply stop attending the churches where the Moscow Patriarchate serves. But when it comes to clergy and communities, it is more complicated because there are legal procedures and dependence on the system. Communities leave the MP according to the procedure provided by the law. However, fewer clergy than communities leave the MP," he explained
Metropolitan Epiphaniy explained that it is difficult for priests to sever their subordination to the Moscow Patriarchate. "Some are afraid of punishment, and some find it difficult to admit that they previously taught about the 'illegitimacy' of the OCU and now have to unite. Some confuse the unity of the Church of Christ with the unity of the MP structure, mistakenly thinking that leaving the subordination of the Moscow Patriarchate is equivalent to leaving the Church. Some hope that the wave of public outrage will subside, and they will continue to live as they did, deceiving people and themselves, claiming that they do not serve the MP when they remain in its structure and that all current events are just some artificial media campaign and not a real shift in the public consciousness," said the head of the OCU.
As of March 2023, more than 50% of Ukrainians in each region of the country considered the activities of the UOC-Moscow Patriarchate as a factor that contributed to the Russian invasion, according to a survey by the Razumkov Center.
According to a survey conducted by Gradus Research in April, 70% of Ukrainians support the ban on the activities of the UOC-MP.